Les Petjades mítiques a Catalunya: una geografia gairebé inexplorada

Abstract

Catalonia mythical foot prints: an almost unknown geography. This article studies the mythical footprints found in Catalonia. We call mythical footprints forms and marks appeared in the natural environment, especially in rocks that are considered as the traces of a mythical character. Usually, those traces are believed to be the traces of Saints, Virgin Mary, or even Good or devils, but also from other characters more or less historic. Sometimes, these legends have become toponymic references, and in all the cases analyzed here, there is a narration that explains the reason for that name. This paper focuses on the first documented cases and in a few cases there are also exams from the twentieth century. For the first time, this paper presents an explanation of the diversity of origins and the commonalities of forms and geographies, and of the legends that explain them.